Top 10 Asian Players Ever Seen In NBA History

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Out of the six most populated continents, Asia has produced the fewest NBA players. Despite a population of nearly 5 billion people, only 29 Asian players have ever suited up in an NBA game, including US-born players with an Asian descent. If we exclude players from Turkey, Israel, and Georgia, who are geographically in Asia, but they compete in Eurobasket, these are the top 10 best Asian players in NBA history.
You might think that the first Asian players came to the NBA during the 90s or early 2000s, but you'd be wrong. In fact, the first Asian player got drafted before Earl Lloyd, Chuck Cooper, and Nat Clifton, the first three black NBA players who entered the league in 1950 But Wataru Misaka came to the NBA in 1947, a 5'7 point guard born in Utah to a Japanese family that migrated to the US in the 1920s. Misaka played collegiate basketball at Weber College, the alma mater of Damian Lillard. And in the early 1940s, Watt led Weber to two championships. He then enrolled in the University of Utah, where he won the 1944 NCAA tournament. And in 1947, he won the National Invitational Tournament with the Utes, after which the New York Knicks drafted him with the 61st pick in the BAA draft, as the league wasn't yet called the NBA. Thus, Misaka became the first non-Caucasian to play in the NBA. But his run in the league was short lived. Wataru was cut after scoring seven points in three games, and never received a full explanation as to why. Critical observers might point to his race, since Misaka was often booed throughout his career, due to anti-Japanese sentiment in the World War II era. However, Misaka himself thought it was for basketball reasons. The Knicks had too many guards on the roster, and coming in at 5'7 and 150 pounds, Misaka wasn't exactly a physical specimen full of long-term potential. And even though his career was cut short, and there were far better players due to historical reasons, Misaka's name had to be mentioned. First non-white player in the NBA.
Mr. Misaka is here. After Misaka, it took more than 30 years for another Asian player to be drafted, and that player was Raymond Townsend, the 22nd pick in the 1978 NBA draft. Townsend was half American, half Filipino, becoming the first Asian player to win the NCAA championship in 1975 with UCLA. However, the 6'3 point card played only three seasons in the NBA, appearing in just 154 games, and that's why the number 9 spot on our list doesn't belong to him, but to another biracial player who came after him, becoming only the fourth Asian player in the NBA. It was Rex Walters, who's half white, half Japanese, and was selected 16th overall in the 1993 NBA draft. I consider myself Japanese American. I just don't look it. People are always surprised. Now we got a guy like Jeremy Lin breaking barriers, and I'd like to think I played a small part in that. Walters made a bigger mark in the NBA than his predecessors, staying in the league for 7 years. Standing at 6'4, Walters mainly came off the bench, averaging 4.6 points and 13 minutes of playing time. But this next player broke the stereotype of Asians being small, and him getting drafted was historic. In 1999, the 7-foot center Wang Zhizhu became the first Chinese player drafted to the NBA, selected 36th overall by the Mavericks. And before he came to America, Wang was the Shaquille O'Neal of the Chinese Basketball Association. Playing for the Bayi Rockets, Wang dominated the CBA, winning six consecutive championships from 96 to 2001, including the MVP title, the Finals MVP, and leading the league in blocks four times. Wang arrived in Dallas after winning his last CBA championship title, when there were fewer than 10 games left in the 2000-2001 season. Two days after Dallas was eliminated from the playoffs, Wang hurried back to China to play in the 2001 East Asian Games, according to an agreement between the Chinese authorities and the Dallas Mavericks. When he returned, Wang helped the Rockets defeat Yao Ming's Shanghai Sharks by one point in the final, after which he came to the NBA for good. In 2002, his first full season, Jijie didn't really play much. But when he was on the court, he was solid, averaging 5.6 points and two rebounds in just 11 minutes of play. However, what was extraordinary for a player of his size is that he shot 41% for three, a better percentage than Dirk Nowitzki. If he played in the modern era, Wong's shooting prowess would probably get him significant playing time. But in the early 2000s, shooting big men were considered odd, as most coaches wanted their centers to battle in the post. And that's why Wong's career in the NBA didn't last too long. After a promising start in Dallas, he spent the next three seasons playing for the Clippers and the Heat, appearing in just 77 games and averaging eight minutes per contest. Jijie then returned to the CBA, where he won another championship and finals MVP, proving that his talent wasn't properly recognized in the US. And just like Wong, the Japanese 6'9 forward Yuta Watanabe made basketball history. Born in Japan in 1994, Watanabe became the first Japanese-born student-athlete to secure an NCAA Division I basketball scholarship. Playing for George Washington University as a power forward, Watanabe struggled at first, but as time went on, he came into his own. As a senior, Yuta was George Washington's leading scorer at 16.3 points per game, and second-leading rebounder with 6.1 per game, while also leading the team in blocks. He was named the Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year, becoming the first George Washington player to win the award. Then, after going undrafted in the 2018 NBA draft, Watanabe signed a two-way contract with the Memphis Grizzlies. But he barely played for Memphis, appearing in just 33 games in his first two seasons, before signing a contract with the Raptors. In his first season in Canada, Watanabe appeared in 50 games, averaging 4.4 points in 15 minutes. However, just like Wong, the Japanese forward was an excellent three-point shooter, making 40% of his shots from deep. He last played for the Grizzlies in 2024, after which he decided to return home to Japan due to his lack of playing time in the NBA. But even though his NBA career didn't really pan out, he still played for six years in the league, which is above average, mainly because he was a very good defender and rarely made mistakes. But even though he wasn't that great defensively, this next player was supposed to be the Asian Dirk Nowitzki. Yi Zhenlian was a dominant center in the CBA, winning the MVP award and three championships between 2004 and 2006 Standing at seven feet with a soft touch, Yi averaged 25 points and 11 rebounds per game, playing for the Guangdong Tigers in 2007 while shooting over 58% from the field and 82% from the free throw line. Yi was selected sixth overall by the Bucs in the 2007 NBA draft, ahead of Joe Kim Noah, Mark Gasol, Nick Young, and several other high profile players. The Bucs thought Jian Lian was going to be something between Dirk and Yao, but it didn't really work out that way. As a rookie, Yi averaged 8.6 points and 5.2 rebounds in 25 minutes on the court, which wasn't too bad. But unlike the guys he was supposed to mimic, Yi didn't have a strong work ethic or a humble mindset. Yi seemed to be more concerned about playing in a city with a large Asian community than actually getting on the court, and demanded a trade despite the Bucs guaranteeing him a place in the rotation and more playing time. But Yi didn't want to be in Milwaukee, so the Bucs traded him to the Nets after his rookie season. Zhang Lian spent two years in New Jersey, and his second year there, he averaged 12 points, seven rebounds in one block per game, while making 37% from three and 80% from the free throw line. When Yi first played against Yao Ming, he scored 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds, including two three-pointers, while Yao recorded 28 points and nine rebounds. That game between the two was watched by over 200 million people in China, making it one of the most watched games in NBA history. After the game, Yao called Yi's talent unbelievable, and Tracy McGrady said Yi had a tremendous upside in this league. However, due to injuries, a poor work ethic, and an unwillingness to adapt to the NBA lifestyle, Yi was out of the league after five seasons, averaging eight points and five rebounds in 272 games. But nearly 20 years before Yi Xiangliang was drafted, another Asian-born player became a lottery pick. It was Ronny Saikli, a Lebanese-born player, who became one of the first players drafted from outside the US. Born in Beirut, Saikli spent his youth in Lebanon and Greece before moving to the States in 1983, where he attended Syracuse University. As a junior, the 6'11 center led the Orange to the NCAA finals, averaging 22 points and 11 rebounds per game. But the Indiana Hoosiers defeated them in the championship game. Saikli graduated from Syracuse as the school's all-time leading rebounder, second in block shots and fourth in scoring. At the time, he was only the second player ever to record 1,000 points and rebounds during his tenure at Syracuse. Drafted ninth overall by the Miami Heat, Saikli hit the ground running, winning the award for the most improved player in his second season. In a career that lasted 11 years, the Lebanese center averaged 14.7 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. And at the time of his retirement, he was the best Asian player ever in the NBA. But if there was a title for the best Asian sixth man of all time, it would go to Jordan Clarkson. Clarkson is half-black, half-Filipino from his mother's side. And even though he was born and raised in the US, Jordan holds Filipino citizenship and has represented the Philippines national team. Drafted in 2014 as the 46th overall pick, Jordan quickly showed his knack for scoring, averaging 12 points per game as a rookie. In 2018, while playing for the Utah Jazz, Clarkson won the sixth man of the year award, averaging 18.4 points per game. Between 2020 and 2022, he played in 24 playoff games for the Jazz, averaging 17 points off the bench in just 28 minutes on the court, which further established his reputation as a microwave scorer. From 2018, Clarkson represented the Philippines on the international scene, most notably playing for them in the 2023 World Cup, where he averaged 26 points per game. And just like Clarkson, there's another current NBA player who is half Asian from his mother's side. Rui Hachimura is half Japanese, half Beninese, and was born and raised in Japan. After dominating the high school competition, in 2016, Rui signed a letter of intent to join Gonzaga University. With the Bulldogs, he didn't play much initially, but by his junior season, he had become one of the best players in the NCAA. Hachimura averaged 19.7 points and 6.5 rebounds per game, while making 59 percent of his shots, including 42 percent from three, which earned him the Conference Player of the Year Award. In 2019, Hachimura announced that he would forego his final year of eligibility and declared for the 2019 NBA draft, where he was drafted 9th overall by the Washington Wizards. Rui thus became the first Japanese player to get drafted in the first round, and he justified this selection by scoring 13.5 points per game as a rookie. So far, in his six-year career, Hachimura has proven to be one of the most efficient scorers in the league, especially in the playoffs. His 62 percent effective field goal percentage currently ranks fourth all time, despite limited playoff experience of only 31 games. But due to his shooting prowess, a sturdy six-foot-eight frame and the mentorship from Lebron, Hachimura could have the longest career out of all Asian players, unless, of course, Young Hansen becomes the Chinese version of Nikola Jokic. But even if Rui or Hansen somehow became the league MVP, they would hardly reach the popularity that a certain Asian player enjoyed in 2012 Of course, we're talking about Jeremy Lin, who's mostly known for the Lin sanity and those magical few months when he played for the Knicks, fighting even to stay on the roster, not getting recognized by security, and sleeping on his brother's couch. Lin finally got an opportunity on February 4th, 2012 After several Knicks guards were injured, Lin got a chance to show what he's got against the New Jersey Nets and their all-star point guard, Darren Williams. Playing like a man possessed, Lin finished with 25 points, five rebounds, and seven assists, all career highs in a 99-92 Knicks win. Over the next two weeks, Jeremy averaged 24 points and nine assists per game, leading New York to seven consecutive victories and transforming from a virtual nobody to a global sensation. Lin had the second highest jersey sales in the NBA that season, which is amazing considering he only played 35 games that year. And even though the rest of his career didn't quite compete with the hype of Lin's sanity, Jeremy still had a solid nine-year career, averaging 11.6 points and 4.3 assists per game, and winning an NBA championship with the Raptors in 2019